Face Value
by Dobby123
Summary: Sometimes it's just hard being us, but we make the best of it, even when we do a poor job of it.
1. Airhead

Nana sighed as she heard a familiar booming sound followed by a high-pitched wail that sometimes, she can't tell if that was her son variation of a mating call or puberty taking its sweet ass time to break. God damn it her son is fourteen years old and he's still five-five. Shaking her head, she went into the house with a smile as her "new children", played around adding to the chaos. She shouted from the bottom of the staircase to tell her son and that demon to quiet it down. She didn't know how much more of this chaos she could take. Contrary of what everybody thought she had limited amount of patience and she wondered how she managed to survive as long as she did. She guess she has to thank her mother, she learned from the best. You lived in the household as she did, it was better if the girls played stupid long enough until you left home. However, Nana couldn't quite stop the lie (act).

So now that's all she does, just grin and bare with it. She just grin and bare with it, because that's all she knows. She doesn't know how else to live so she's just stuck. She doesn't hate her life, but she doesn't love it either. That's probably why her son turned out the way he did. No good parental roll from her or his father. She was a terrible mother and couldn't properly raise her child. She was failure of a mother, so she was just happy that somebody else can do a better job than she can.


	2. Blind Mercy

"You're stupid."

"I know."

"You're so naive."

"I know."

"If you know this, why do you keep doing this?"

"It's the right thing to do and you know it."

"Are you trying to question my morals?"

"I'm not."

"Then what are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to help people."

"Damn it Tsunayoshi, you don't have that kind of luxury anymore. It was cute when you were just learning the ways of the mafia, now it's just pathetic."

"But I have to help them."

"No. You. Don't. These people are trying to kill you and because you're so busy trying to change these people for the better, somebody almost succeeded. If it wasn't for Yamamoto quick actions you would've died today."

"I DON'T WANT TO KILL PEOPLE."

"This shit again Tsuna? I thought Reborn did a good job of beating that out of you. Newsflash Tsunayoshi Sawada, you have no choice but to kill. You are the boss of the most powerful family in the underworld and you do well to remember that, people are going to **ALWAYS** want to kill you and it's our job and yours too, to make sure you stay alive. Everyday you send somebody out on a mission, we come back with blood on our hands for you because we believe in your resolve, your cause, your mission. And all we ask of you is to make sure you don't waste our efforts and stay alive for us, if no one else."

"I-..."

"I know you try to see the good in everybody, but you just gotta admit that some of us are beyond saving and it would be more merciful to put us down."

"Onii-san."

"I'm sorry Sawada, it's just the way it is."


	3. Apathy

Yamamoto walked down the pristine hallways of the Vongola Mansion, he winced slightly as he knew he would get scolded again by the head maid for tracking blood and probably scaring the new hired help again. But he didn't really mind if he got yelled at, it would be enough to bring him down from his high and maybe feel like a human or at least look like one again.

His mission turned into something nasty, nothing new, but it wasn't often you was able to catch traitor by pure chance, so he lucked out, unfortunately he was a bit outnumbered so he got hurt a little...so it was his blood dripping on the floor not theirs. No theirs dried out hours ago and to be honest he wasn't sure what he did for the past few hours before he got home, but he was feeling a bit light headed and he needed a shower and some sleep. He'll report to Tsuna tomorrow, but right now, he needs be able to smile after all he need to be able to empathize with Tsuna.


	4. Last

Lambo knew he was weak. He was a kid for crying out loud, what did other people expect. He knows that he's not as useful because he lacks the experience and the strength to protect himself sometimes, but he proved himself, time and time again.

Tsuna-nii told him to not to worry about them because he and his older brothers will protect him. And he hates that, that means he's still not useful to them. What will it take to earn their trust? What will it take to stand by them on equal terms?

"Lambo, I need you to listen to me," Lambo was shaking because Baka-dere shielded him from an attack and now he wasn't moving anymore. Baka-dere was starting to looked strangely gray and Tsuna-nii was crying. "You have to be strong for me and your older brothers okay?" Lambo just nodded, he was only eight and still wasn't sure what was going on. "Your brothers and I are going to a place where you can't follow us."

Lambo started crying, "I want to go with you guys, you stupid-heads are always leaving me alone."

Tsuna wiped Lambo tears away and dragged him down the emergency passageway he was familiar with. Tsuna turned and kneeled to eye level with him. He was no longer crying, instead took on his serious expression. "Lambo, I need you to stop crying and listen to me. I need you to run, don't argue with me. I'm not strong enough to protect you anymore." Lambo flinched, his brother was the strongest person he know. How could he not be strong enough anymore? "I need you to go down this passageway, but take the west side. Dino won't be able to pick you up anymore, so you'll be on your own this time okay?"

Lambo nodded, but he was still confused. "Why can't I can't come with you guys?"

Tsuna smiled without humor, "Because you're too young, you have to be older than me before you follow us."  
"Older than you?"

"Yep older than me, you remember how old your grandpa and uncles was before they left?"

Lambo nodded. "Good, so you have to be as old as them, and the only way you can do that, is to run as far away as possible."

"Why won't you let me fight with you, why won't you let follow you guys." Lambo was pulled into a tight hug.

"You're the only one left of us and for that, you have to live, live for me, live for the rest of us, grow old and be happy." Lambo was shoved forward as Tsuna ran back to the battle. Lambo looked at the his empty fingers. He been released from his duties as the lightning guardian now and forever, so he ran, he ran as far as his legs could carry him and didn't stop, not for a long time.


	5. Jailed

Tsuna should've known better. It was too quiet and the steady pounding in his head should've been warning enough, but transitioning out of middle school into high school was a painful and time consuming problem enough considering all the interruption the mafia brought in. And with his and Yamamoto poor grades, they almost repeated ninth grade. Thankfully, the two graduated with the rest of the class and now they were in high school.

Surprisingly Tsuna was faring a whole lot better in high school than he did in middle school. Maybe it was because nobody paid him much attention or maybe it was because the teachers were actually giving him a chance to prove himself. Sure he still messed up from time to time, but this time he was able to laugh at himself. Too bad that he wasn't able to enjoy it more before a bunch of policemen burst into the classroom and carted him to jail.

So...here he was, sitting in a cold interrogation room, pissed and humiliated. The cops knew nothing about discretion and almost right then and there reveal the fact that he was in the mafia. He knew better than to panic and tried to get his one phone call in, but they wouldn't allow it, so he had to rely on the boys get Reborn for him.

The door to the interrogation room opened and two very intimidated looking officers came in. They sat a huge folder in front of him and Tsuna started to sweat a little.

'Shit, how could they get so much information on me.'

"Sawada-san, right," one of the officers said. Tsuna sat up and look the man straight in his eyes, he knew better than to cower in front of them.

"Yes." Tsuna said slowly. He heart was pounding.

"I'm Officer Yamada and this Officer Takahashi. Officer Yamada gestured to the folder. "Do you know what this is?" The man opened the folder so he could get a glimpse of what it contained. "This is a folder of every crime that you ever committed in this town, from destruction of property, to battery and assault, indecent exposure, to disturbing the peace." Tsuna almost laughed, but kept it together. The officer picked up a stack of papers. "These are noised complaints about screaming children and gunshots and bombing sounds. Some are about you brutally beating people up as well as setting fires to buildings." Tsuna just sighed, all of it was true, true to the last sentence. While he didn't commit most of those crimes he was involved. So why the hell was he the only of arrested.

"So do you want to know what I think," Officer Yamada asked. "I think that this is a long list of criminal activity for someone as young as you."

Tsuna heard enough, "So my charges are aggravated assault and destruction of property." He said almost exasperated. The two officers glanced at each other. "From what I see, you have no proof that it's me committing these so call crimes."

"Excuse me?"

"None of those files states my name specifically."

"Well the witnesses described you."

"So they told you a short boy with brown hair was committing these crimes," Tsuna snorted. "That's hardly proof that I committed these crimes."

The Yamada sputtered, "They also called you strange names."

"Well, I'm not exactly popular among my peers, so you'll have to tell me what name they were calling me." Tsuna grimaced. "Besides witnesses reports are never clear anyways."

Yamada eye twitched, before Takahashi practically screamed, "You're part of the mafia."

Tsuna drew back at the allegation and snorted. "I hardly doubt that speaking a second language constitutes as a crime." Tsuna leaned forward and calmly said. "You two have ambiguous reports about me, none, might I add will stick in the courthouse, especially when you didn't read me my rights or let me have my one phone call. You got nothing on me."

Just when they were about to say accuse him of more crimes, apparently his attorney, Reborn, came in and bailed him out.

.

.

.

Reborn and Tsuna walked back to their house solemn. Somebody leaked out information about Tsuna being 10th boss of Vongola, that was no laughing matter.

"Reborn," Tsuna started.

"I already have people looking for whoever talked."

"Not traitor?" Tsuna asked bewildered.

Reborn grunted, "If it was a traitor you would've had more than just the cops baring down on you." The two walked in silenced."Don't worry about it for now, just settle your guardians down before they do something stupid."


End file.
